Format and dates of the meeting
Owing to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as an exceptional measure, the sixteenth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-16) will be held by electronic means from Monday to Saturday, 11 to 16 January 2021. The entire meeting, including pre-meetings, plenary sessions and contact/drafting group meetings will be conducted online.
Schedule of the meeting
POPRC-16 will be opened on Monday, 11 January 2021, at 12 p.m. (noon) (UTC+1). Plenary sessions will take place online every day from 11 to 14 January 2021 from 12 p.m. (noon) to 2 p.m. (UTC+1), and on 16 January from 12 p.m. (noon) to 2 p.m. (UTC+1), and from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. (UTC+1). Contact/drafting groups will be held online, as needed, every day from 11 to 14 January 2021 from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. (UTC+1), and on 15 January from 12 p.m. (noon) to 2 p.m. (UTC+1), and from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. (UTC+1).
The tentative schedule of POPRC-16 (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.16/INF/2/Rev.1), as agreed by the Bureau, is available.
Pre-meetings
Pre-meetings will be held from 1 to 3 December 2020 in English only, from 11.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (UTC+1). This will provide an early opportunity to introduce and discuss the technical work (item 4 of the provisional agenda) with the aim of facilitating the Committee’s work at the meeting, and thereby contributing to the efficient use of the time available during the online meeting. Participants are therefore encouraged to actively participate in the pre-meetings so as to ensure a full and rich exchange in relation to the technical work to be completed. Further information on the pre-meetings is available here.
Meeting documents
The provisional agenda, other pre-session documents, including the scenario note and the tentative schedule of work, are made available here.
Language of the meeting
As per decision SC-1/7 on the establishment of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee and in line with usual arrangements, the meeting will take place in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Technical details of the meeting and pre-meetings
Both the POPRC-16 meeting and pre-meetings will be held on the platform “Interprefy”. To join the online sessions, you will be first required to log in to the POPRC-16 password-protected intranet site.
The access to the password-protected intranet site will be limited to participants registered to the meeting. Each participant will be required to connect to the site using a personal login account. The Username for your account will be the unique e-mail address that you provided to the Secretariat as part of your registration to the meeting. You will receive an e-mail, from the Secretariat, to the unique e-mail address provided during the registration process with an invitation Link to connect to the intranet site and set up your account.
When you connect for the first time using the above-mentioned
invitation Link, the system will automatically use your e-mail address as your Username, while you will be asked to set up your own password. Once the password is set up, you will receive, for security reasons, a second e-mail containing a
verification Link. Only after clicking on the verification Link, and following the steps to confirm your registration details, your
account will be activated and you will be able to login to the POPRC-16 password-protected intranet site. Keep your username and password in a safe place and do not share it with anybody else, as they are personal and not transferable.
It is important for you to set up your account with time in advance before the pre-meetings.
Registered participants will receive an e-mail invitation to book their calendars for test sessions before the pre-meetings and before the POPRC-16 meeting. In order to participate in the test sessions participants must first activate their intranet accounts as described in paragraphs 8 and 9. Test sessions are important to ensure that participants are technically ready to connect to the Interprefy system. Links to access the test sessions will be made available on the POPRC-16 password protected intranet site. We strongly urge you to participate in at least one of the test sessions in order to ensure that your audio devices are working properly and that you can participate effectively in the meeting using the same equipment and internet connection.
Once logged in to the intranet site, you will have access to the Link to join the online sessions, by clicking on the Online sessions tab. Please note that the intranet page will be activated a few days before the meeting. Until then, all relevant information pertaining to the meeting will be posted on the meeting website at: www.pops.int/poprc16. The intranet site will also contain, among other things, the pre-session meeting documents, in-session documents, the meeting clickable agenda, information on the daily schedule, any meeting-related announcements.
Further information on the technical details to activate your user account and participate in the online sessions via the Interprefy platform is available in the users’ guide. In addition, please consult the information on the technical requirements for using the Interprefy platform, as well as guidelines for speakers.
Please note that the Chair will proceed promptly to the opening of the meeting on Monday, 11 January 2021, at 12 p.m. (UTC+1). You are invited to connect to the online sessions 60 minutes before the start to once more confirm that your audio settings are working well.
If you require technical support, please contact the Stockholm Convention IT support at: Email: ITsupport@brsmeas.org,Tel.: +41 22 917 8229 or +41 79 203 7614.
Communication allowance for eligible members from developing countries and countries with economies in transition only
During the COVID-19 pandemic situation that imposes limitations on travel and mass gatherings, as well as teleworking due to domestic lockdowns, the Secretariat will provide an exceptional support for the reimbursement of communication costs (i.e. costs incurred to secure a reliable and good quality internet connection) to assist eligible members from developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate in the online meetings. For more information about the Secretariat’s policy and modalities for the reimbursement of communication costs of online meetings for eligible meeting participants, please kindly consult the supplemental information on the reimbursement of communication costs for online meetings.
Guidelines for rules of conduct for meeting participants
The attention of meeting participants is drawn to the following guidelines for rules of conduct developed:
- Guidelines on the use of cameras and audio/video recording devices by participants at meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS) and their subsidiary bodies;
- Guidelines for the participation of representatives of observers at meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (BRS) and their subsidiary bodies;
- Guidelines on preventing and addressing all forms of harassment at meetings of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions.
Preparatory briefings
A number of online briefings have been organized prior to the meeting. These briefings provide an overview of the issues that will be considered at the meeting and are open to all meeting participants, as well as Parties to the Stockholm Convention, observers and stakeholders in general. Recordings of these briefings are available on the meeting website.